Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (U.S. Version)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (also known as Millionaire) is a television game show which offers a maximum prize of $1,000,000 (originally lump sum; now annuitized) for correctly answering 15 successive multiple-choice questions of increasing difficulty. The show is based on and follows the same general format of the original version of the show from the United Kingdom, and is now part of the international Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? franchise. History Who Wants to Be a Millionaire debuted in the United States on August 16, 1999 on the American Broadcasting Company television network, and was hosted by television personality Regis Philbin. The network version, whose episodes were originally shown just a day after their taping in New York, became explosively popular in 2000, and at its peak was airing in prime time four nights a week on ABC. The show was popular enough to find rival networks creating or reincarnating game shows of their own, and created a brief renaissance of sorts for United States based game shows (e.g. Greed, Twenty One, etc.) as well as a flurry of American versions of UK and Australian originals, such as Winning Lines, The Weakest Link, and It's Your Chance of a Lifetime. ABC used Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in so many prime time slots that when the show's popularity faded by the fall of 2001, it was left with a dearth of original programs on June 27, 2002. ABC's overall Nielsen Ratings suffered as a result of the show's decline in popularity. Michael Eisner, then CEO of The Walt Disney Company (ABC's parent), a former page at Jeopardy! and The Price Is Right, thought that the show would be successful like many other daytime television shows. However, he had realized too late that a hot show like Millionaire would tire more quickly in prime time than in daytime. Millionaire's place as a daytime show was granted when ABC's sister company, Buena Vista Television (now Disney-ABC Domestic Television), produced a daily syndicated offering with Meredith Vieira which premiered in September 2002. This version, also taped in New York, began airing its eighth season on September 7, 2009, and has earned Vieira two Emmies for best game show host. The format is licensed by Sony Pictures Television as part of the acquisition of 2waytraffic in 2008, though the U.S. version is still distributed by Disney. To celebrate Millionaire's 10th anniversary, the show returned to ABC prime time in August 2009 with host Regis Philbin for a two week event. Main game Original format (1999–2008) Once a contestant made it to the "Hot Seat," their goal was to correctly answer 15 consecutive multiple-choice questions of increasing difficulty from progressively harder sets of questions. Each question is worth a specified amount of money; in most formats, the amounts are not cumulative. Upon correctly answering questions five and ten, the contestant is guaranteed at least the amount of prize money associated with that level. If the contestant gives a wrong answer to any subsequent question, their game is over and their winnings will drop down to the last milestone achieved. If the contestant answers a question incorrectly before reaching question five, they leave with nothing. However, the contestant has the option of "walking away" without giving an answer after being presented with a question. In this case, the game ends and the contestant is awarded the amount of money the contestant earned for a previous correct answer. Clock format (2008–10) From 2008 to 2010, time limits were used for each question. Contestants were given up to 15 seconds each for questions 1–5, 30 seconds each for questions 6–10, and 45 seconds each for questions 11–14. Unused time was banked, and if the contestant were to reach question 15, they had 45 seconds plus however much time they had banked. Usage of lifelines temporarily paused the clock while the lifelines were played. If the clock reached zero before a contestant could provide a final answer, they were forced to walk away with the winnings they had at that point. However, if a contestant used the Double Dip lifeline and ran out of time prior to making a second guess, they were considered to have provided an incorrect answer and lost all winnings down to the last milestone achieved. When the clock format was adopted, the on-screen graphics were updated. Also, a new "Millionaire Menu" was introduced, which has since carried over into the current format; in this, categories are revealed for each question at the beginning of the game, and are made visible to the contestant for their future reference. Some of the prize levels also changed at the start of season eight; this took effect after the ninth contestant from the 2009 primetime run played. Most of the episodes in season eight (from the "Million Dollar Tournament of 10 onward) featured special "Celebrity Questions" that were mid-level in monetary value, and were provided by notable individuals whose identities were not revealed until the contestant reached their special questions. Celebrity guests that were given the opportunity of asking such special questions. Shuffle format (2010–present) The format was revised again for the beginning of season nine, on September 13, 2010. In this new format, the clock was removed, and the number of questions was reduced. Instead of 15 consecutive questions, there are now 14 questions distributed into two rounds. The contestant is given three lifelines in this iteration: Ask the Audience and two Jump the Question lifelines. Ten questions are asked in round one, each assigned one of ten different money amounts: $100, $500, $1,000, $2,000, $3,000, $5,000, $7,000, $10,000, $15,000, or $25,000. The dollar values are randomized at the beginning of the game. The contestant is then shown the original order of difficulty for the ten questions as well as their categories, and those are then randomized as well. This means that the difficulty of the question is not tied to its value, and may be worth as little as $100 or up to $25,000. The dollar values for each question remain hidden until a contestant either correctly answers a question or uses the Jump the Question lifeline. In this format, the value of each question answered correctly is added to the contestant's bank, for a maximum total of $68,600. A contestant who completes the round successfully can walk at any subsequent point with all the money in their bank, or can walk before the round is completed with half that amount (e.g., a contestant who banked $30,000 would leave with $15,000). Contestants who give an incorrect answer at any point in the round leave with $1,000. Since the beginning of season ten, certain weeks of the show have been designated as "Double Your Money" weeks. In those, a certain question in round one is designated the "Double Money Question." When a contestant answers such a question correctly, the monetary value behind the question is doubled and added to his or her bank, giving him or her the possibility of adding up to a maximum of $50,000 to his or her bank on a single question; under these special rules, it is possible for a contestant to finish Round 1 with a maximum total of $93,600 in their bank. However, when a contestant uses the Jump the Question lifeline, he or she forfeits the doubled money. That season also introduced "Broadway Giveaway" weeks, in which one question during round one always pertains to Broadway performances. When such a question is played, a correct answer awards not only the monetary value behind the question, but also tickets to a performance for both the contestant and one entire row of the studio audience, chosen at random by the contestant. After completing round one, the contestant moves on to a second round of gameplay, termed "Classic Millionaire" because of its resemblance to the previous formats utilized by the show. The final four questions are played for set values ($100,000, $250,000, $500,000, and $1,000,000) and a correct answer augments the contestant's winnings to that point, as in the older formats. The contestant is now allowed to walk away with all the money in their bank; an incorrect answer drops their winnings to $25,000. Unlike the clock format and round one, there are no categories for "Classic Millionaire" questions, and unlike round one, the question values are not cumulative. In the event that a contestant leaves and very little time remains, a randomly selected audience member is given one chance to win $1,000 by answering the next question intended for the previous contestant (or $2,000 if the next question was on a Double Money episode). Regardless of the outcome, the audience member receives a special prize. In seasons nine and ten, the prize was copy of a video game based on Millionaire. Lifelines Contestants are given a series of lifelines to aid them with difficult questions. They can use as many lifelines as desired per question, but each lifeline (with the exception of Jump the Question) can only be used once per game. Three lifelines are available from the start of the game. Depending on the format of the show, additional lifelines may become available after the contestant correctly answers the fifth or tenth question. In the timed format of the show, the clock froze when a lifeline was being used and later continued from where it was stopped. Current lifelines Ask the Audience (1999–present): Audience members use touch pads to designate what they believe the correct answer to be. The percentage of the audience choosing each specific option is displayed to the contestant. Ask the Audience is the only remaining one of the show's original lifelines. :From 2004 to 2006, the Ask the Audience lifeline also included users of AOL Instant Messenger. Users wishing to participate added the screen name MillionaireIM to their buddy list and received an instant message when a contestant used his or her Ask the Audience lifeline. The message contained the question and four possible answers, and Internet users sent replies with their choices. During instances where the AIM side of the lifeline failed to work, the contestant was only able to rely on the studio audience's response. :The lifeline also got a name change in the Halloween Special. For the special it was given the name, Pick the Audiences' Brains, much to the audiences disgust. Jump the Question (2010–present): This lifeline can be used twice in a single game. At any point prior to selecting a final answer, a contestant can use Jump the Question to skip the current question and move on to the next one; unlike the Switch the Question lifeline, Jump the Question reduces the number of questions a player must correctly answer. However, if the contestant uses Jump the Question, they do not gain any money from the question they choose to skip (for example, a contestant with a bank of $68,100 may jump the $100,000 question, but will still have only $68,100 instead of the typical $100,000 when they face the $250,000 question). Unlike other lifelines throughout the show's history, this lifeline cannot be used on the $1 million question. Like the Ask the Audience lifeline, this lifeline got a name change for the 2012 Halloween Special as well. Crystal Ball (2012–present): This lifeline allows the contestant to see the money value of the question currently in play prior to giving an answer; however, it is only available for Round 1. This lifeline is used occasionally on specially designated weeks, starting with a Halloween-themed week that aired from October 29–November 2, 2012. Crystal Ball can be used alongside the Ask the Audience and Jump the Question lifelines. Retired lifelines 50/50 (1999–2008): The computer eliminated two incorrect answers, leaving one incorrect answer and the correct answer. From 1999–2002, the two removed answers were predetermined by the production team. From 2002 until the removal of the lifeline in 2008, two incorrect answers were randomly removed. In September 2008, 50/50 was replaced with Double Dip. Phone-a-Friend (1999–2010): The contestant called one of up to five friends (three after September 2008), who provided their phone numbers (and, from September 2008 until the removal of the lifeline in 2010, pictures of themselves to be displayed on the screen) in advance. The contestant had thirty seconds to read the question and answer choices to the friend, who then had the remaining time to offer input. The Phone-a-Friend lifeline was sponsored by the original AT&T throughout the run of the ABC primetime show and in the first season of the syndicated version, then by the new AT&T for the 2009 primetime episodes. Phone-a-Friend was temporarily removed during episodes of the syndicated version guest hosted by Philbin that aired out of order in December 2009, then it was permanently removed beginning with the episode that aired on January 11, 2010. The reasoning behind the removal of Phone-a-Friend was because the producers felt that there was an increasing trend of contestants' friends using search engines and other Internet resources to assist those unfairly privileged individuals who had computer access over those who did not, and although that was not necessarily a violation of the rules of the game, it was contrary to the original intent of that lifeline, by which friends were supposed to provide assistance based on what they already knew. In return for the removal of the Phone-a-Friend lifeline, Ask the Expert became available from the beginning of the game, rather than after the fifth question. Switch the Question (2004–08): The contestant earns this lifeline upon answering the tenth question. The computer replaces, at the contestant's request, one question with another of the same monetary value. Any lifelines used on the original question prior to the switching are not reinstated. Three Wise Men (2004): Used only on Super Millionaire, this lifeline allowed the contestant to ask a sequestered panel chosen by the sponsor which answer they believed was correct. The panel, consisting of three people, one being a former $1,000,000 winner on the show and at least one being female, had 30 seconds to select an answer but did not need to reach a consensus—each member of the panel was allowed to provide a different answer. Double Dip (2004, 2008–10): Originally used on Super Millionaire, this lifeline allowed the contestant to make two guesses at a question. However, once the contestant confirmed use of this lifeline, the contestant was committed to playing out the question and could not walk away or use any further lifelines. This lifeline was available throughout the game (unlike in Super Millionaire, where it was only available after the contestant correctly answered question 10). The clock was frozen until contestants gave their first answer and resumed for the second answer if the first was incorrect. A second incorrect answer (or failure to give a second answer before time expired) ended the game and dropped the contestant's winnings down to the last milestone achieved. On Super Millionaire, where Double Dip was available with 50/50, it was theoretically possible for a contestant to use 50/50 and then Double Dip to get the answer correct by elimination. Ask the Expert (2008–10): Similar to the Three Wise Men lifeline from Super Millionaire, this lifeline allowed the contestant to call an "expert" via live face-to-face audio and video connection sponsored by Skype. The expert could be anyone from a celebrity to a previous Millionaire contestant; experts included Bill Nye, Ogi Ogas, Alan Thicke, Jay Thomas, and Ken Jennings. The lifeline was originally available after the contestant got the fifth question correct, then moved to the beginning of the game after Phone-a-Friend was removed. Unlike Three Wise Men, there was no set time limit and the contestant and expert were allowed to discuss the question. If a video link to the expert was unavailable, the expert joined the show via phone instead. Super Millionaire Main Article: Who Wants to Be a Super Millionaire? 10th Anniversary Celebration Main Article: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? 10th Anniversary Primetime Celebration Gameplay Preliminary "Fastest Finger" round On the ABC versions, ten contestants competed for the right to play the main game on each episode. The contestants were presented with a question and a list of four answers which needed to be put in a specific order (e.g., ordering four historic events starting with the most recent, ordering the size of animals starting with the smallest, etc.). Using keys on their podiums, each of the contestants attempted to enter the correct order in the shortest amount of time. If a player made a mistake, they could hit the Delete button and re-start, but once the OK button was pressed, the answers were locked in. If the main game ended and there was still time available for another game, the remaining contestants would play another Fastest Finger round for a chance to play the main game. If two or more contestants tied with the fastest time, those contestants played an additional Fastest Finger question to break the tie. If all contestants answered the question incorrectly, the round was repeated with another question. If any of the contestants were visually-impaired, the host read the question and four choices all at once, then repeated the choices after the music began. If only one contestant is remaining, the round would still be played. The Fastest Finger round was eliminated in 2002, for the half-hour syndicated version. Millionaires Eleven contestants have answered the final question correctly and won the top prize (nine on the ABC version, two on the syndicated version). An additional two contestants won $1,000,000 without answering all fifteen questions: Robert "Bob-O" Essig on Super Millionaire, and Sam Murray in the Tournament of 10. Only one contestant, Ken Basin, has answered the $1,000,000 question incorrectly. ABC Seven contestants correctly answered all 15 questions and won the top prize of $1,000,000 on the ABC version. Two contestants won more than $1,000,000 during a period in which the top prize grew by $10,000 on each episode until the top prize was won. A tenth contestant, Robert Essig, won $1,000,000 after answering the twelfth question during the original Super Millionaire series of episodes, but did not reach the final question for $10,000,000. * John Carpenter (November 19, 1999) * Dan Blonsky (January 18, 2000) * Joe Trela (March 23, 2000) * Bob House (June 13, 2000) * Kim Hunt (July 6, 2000) * David Goodman (July 11, 2000) * Kevin Olmstead (April 10, 2001; $2.18 million jackpot) * Bernie Cullen (April 15, 2001) * Ed Toutant (September 7, 2001; $1.86 million jackpot) * Robert Essig (February 23, 2004; answered 12 questions correctly on Super Millionaire) Syndication Two contestants on the syndicated version have correctly answered all 15 questions and won the top prize of $1,000,000. During the Million Dollar Tournament of 10, Sam Murray, who had previously supplied correct responses for eleven questions, risked his winnings on a special $1,000,000 question. * Kevin Smith (February 18, 2003) * Nancy Christy (May 8, 2003; the first woman to win the $1,000,000) * Sam Murray (November 11, 2009; only contestant to correctly answer his question during the Million Dollar Tournament of 10 Special editions Various special editions and tournaments have been conducted which feature celebrities playing the game and donating winnings to charities of their choice. During celebrity editions, contestants were allowed to receive help from their fellow players during the first ten questions. Among those individuals who competed in celebrity events on the original ABC version were Sean "Diddy" Combs, Queen Latifah, and Ben Stiller; the most successful celebrity contestants were Drew Carey, Rosie O'Donnell, and Norm MacDonald, all of whom won $500,000 for their respective charities. There have also been special weeks featuring two or three family members or couples competing as a team, a "Champions Edition" where former big winners returned and split their winnings with their favorite charities, a "Zero Dollar Winner Edition" featuring contestants who previously missed one of the first-tier questions and left with nothing, and a "Tax-Free Edition" in which H&R Block calculated the taxes of winnings to allow contestants to earn stated winnings after taxes, and various theme weeks featuring college students, teachers, brides-to-be, etc. as contestants. Additionally, the syndicated version once featured an annual "Walk In & Win Week" with contestants who were randomly selected from the audience without having to take the audition test. Special weeks have also included shows featuring questions concerning specific topics, such as professional football, celebrity gossip, movies, and pop culture. During a week of episodes in November 2007, to celebrate the 1,000th episode of the syndicated Millionaire, all contestants that week started with $1,000 so that they could not leave empty-handed, and only had to answer ten questions to win $1,000,000. During that week, twenty home viewers per day also won $1,000 each. Progressive jackpot By January 2001, no contestant had won $1 million in the 71 shows that aired over a period of five months. The top prize was then changed from a flat $1 million to an accumulating jackpot that increased by $10,000 for each episode the top prize was not won. $710,000 was initially added to the jackpot for the previous 71 shows that produced no millionaire. On April 10, 2001, Kevin Olmstead answered the final question correctly and won $2.18 million, making him the biggest winner in television history at the time. The top prize for answering the final question correctly returned to $1 million following Olmstead's win and has remained unchanged since. After Ed Toutant's initial appearance, in which he answered a $16,000 question containing an error, he was invited back for a second attempt to answer all 15 questions for $1.86 million, the jackpot at the time of his original appearance. Toutant completed the task and won the jackpot; his episode aired September 7, 2001. Production information Audition process With few exceptions, any resident of the United States who is 18 years of age or older has the potential of being a contestant on the show. Those ineligible include employees and family members of The Walt Disney Company and its subsidiaries (including DADT and Valleycrest Productions), 2waytraffic, Sony (which owns the Millionaire franchise), television stations that broadcast the program, and any advertising agency or other firm or entity engaged in the production, administration, or judging of Millionaire. Also ineligible are current candidates for political office and individuals who have appeared on a different game show (outside of cable) within the past year, on three such shows within the past ten years, or on any of the U.S. versions of Millionaire itself. Potential contestants of the original primetime version had to compete in a telephone contest which had them dial a toll-free number and answer three questions by putting objects or events in order. Callers had ten seconds to enter the order on a keypad, with any incorrect answer ending the game/call. The 10,000–20,000 candidates who answered all three questions correctly were selected into a random drawing in which approximately 300 contestants would compete for ten spots on the show using the same phone quiz method.To qualify for Super Millionaire, potential contestants were required to answer five questions. Each person who successfully answered all five questions chose one tape date, and the contestants for that tape date were drawn from that pool. Accommodations for contestants outside the New York City area included round trip airfare (or other transportation) and hotel accommodations. The syndicated version's potential contestants, depending on touring tryouts or tryouts held at ABC's New York studio center, are required to pass an electronically scored quiz comprising thirty questions which must be completed in ten minutes. Contestants who pass the general knowledge test are then interviewed by the production staff, and those who impress the production staff the most are then taken for a videotape interview. Later, they are sent a postcard in the mail stating whether they are in a pool of potential contestants, who by the producers' discretion are sent to New York to participate in their tapings. Unlike its ABC counterpart, the syndicated version does not offer accommodations to contestants at the production company's expense. Set Unlike most older game shows whose sets are or were designed to make the contestant(s) feel at ease, Millionaire set was originally designed to make the contestant feel uncomfortable – in fact, the set's design makes it feel more like a movie thriller than a typical quiz show. The floor is made of Plexiglas beneath which lies a huge dish covered in mirror paper, and the Hot Seat measured three feet high and was modeled after chairs typically found in hair salons. The lighting system is programmed to darken the set as the contestant progresses further into the game. There are also spotlights situated at the bottom of the set area that zoom down on the contestant when they answer a major question; to increase the visibility of the light beams emitted by such spotlights, oil is vaporized, creating a haze effect. Dr. Robert Thompson, a professor at Syracuse University, stated that the show's lighting system made the contestant feel as though they were outside of prison when an escape was in progress. When the shuffle format was introduced in September 2010, the set was significantly redesigned. The Hot Seat was removed, and as a result, the host and contestant now stand throughout the game. Two video screens were installed—one that displays the current question in play, and another that displays the contestant's cumulative total and progress during the game. In September 2012, the redesigned version of the set was improved with a modernized look and feel, in order to take into account the show's transition to High-definition television|high-definition broadcasting, which had just come about the previous year. The two video screens were replaced with two larger ones, having twice as many projectors as the previous screens had. The previous contestant podium was replaced with a new one, and light-emitting diode (LED) technology was integrated into the lighting system to give the lights more vivid colors and the set and gameplay experience a more intimate feel. Musical score Originally, the show retained the musical score from the British version, composed by father-and-son duo Keith and Matthew Strachan. The music cues later ended up being rearranged for the clock format in 2008, and then removed altogether for the introduction of the shuffle format in 2010, in favor of a new musical score with cues written by Jeff Lippencott and Mark T. Williams. Reception Since its introduction to the United States, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire has been credited with not only single-handedly reviving the game show genre, but also breaking new ground for it. It revolutionized the look and feel of game shows with its unique lighting system, dramatic music cues, and futuristic set. It became one of the highest-rated and most popular game shows in the history of American television, and is credited by some with paving the way for the phenomenon of reality programming. The U.S. Millionaire also made catchphrases out of various lines used on the show; in particular, "Is that your final answer?", asked by Millionaire hosts whenever a contestant's answer needs to be verified, was popularized by Philbin during his tenure as host. The original primetime version of the U.S. Millionaire won two Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game/Audience Participation Show in 2000 and 2001. Philbin was honored with a Daytime Emmy in the category of Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host|Outstanding Game Show Host in 2001, while Vieira received one in 2005, and another in 2009.